The stone streets of Noctera pulsed with unease. The fog lay thick tonight, but it wasn't natural—it was breathing, alive, laced with Ether and bloodlust. Somewhere in this once-calm northern city of the Mystra Realm, something was hunting.
Kev walked with measured steps, cloak dragging against the dirt. Two years had changed everything. His appearance, his presence, his power—and yet, the past still chased him.
Literally.
He felt the presence long before the figure stepped into the open. It was cold, pressing, like a needle brushing against skin teasing, testing.
A chuckle broke the silence.
"You walk like prey, but smell like something far more interesting."
From the top of a shattered bell tower, a man dropped down, landing with an effortless crouch. His eyes gleamed red-orange, like embers behind cracked glass. Wild silver hair crowned his head, and bloodstained armor covered his lean body.
Dorrell, one of the two disciples of Collen Koran—sent from the capital to eliminate a problem that had returned stronger than expected.
He licked his lips. "Kev, isn't it? I was told you'd be cautious. But you're just walking in the open. Are you offering yourself, or testing me?"
Kev didn't answer immediately. His red eyes narrowed. "You're Dorrell. A hunter."
Dorrell smirked wider. "Correct. One of the finest. And you're still only a Peak Soldier Rank, yes? How unfortunate."
Dorrell's aura surged slightly. Low General Rank. The next level.
His Hunter Path energy leaked into the air—thick, predatory. Unlike Kev's path, which thrived through exploration and conquest, hunters grew stronger through kill-count and survival instincts. Their energy, Blood Aura, sharpened senses, enhanced reaction, and strengthened all bodily functions over time. They weren't built for war. They were built to hunt.
Kev clenched his jaw. His Adventurer Path was rarer—but riskier. Fueled by Ether, the energy of origin, it made him stronger the more realms he conquered or explored. But it required danger, constant motion, and sometimes... losses. As blood aura uses is know ether own isn't it uses re mysterious .
Dorrell circled him like a beast. "You know… I expected something broken, something hiding. But you're standing tall. Strange. Collen said you were unstable."
"You came to toy with me?" Kev asked calmly, fingers twitching near his blade.